frantz



Feb. 21, 1956 F H FRANTZ 2,335,346

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC DISPOSAL OF WASTE DEVELOPE IN DRY PRINTING ANDDEVELOPING MACHINES Filed April 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORFREDERICK H. FRANTZ Feb. 21, 1956 F. APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC Filed April24, 1952 H FRANTZ 2,735,346

DISPOSAL OF WASTE DEVELOPER IN DRY PRINTING AND DEVELOPING MACHINES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 a 40 42 4a a/ 8 29 as L 2a 69 2o 49 65 22 I7 5\ 2/ a 9 l2l9 50 LI FIG. 4-

INVENTOR FREDERICK H. FRANTZ RM W ATTORN EY3 United States PatentAPPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC DISPOSAL OF WASTE DEVELOPER IN DRY PRINTING ANDDEVELOPING MACHINES Frederick H. Frantz, Binghamton, N. Y., assignor toGeneral Aniline & Film Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofDelaware Application April 24, 1952, Serial No. 284,100 3 Claims. (CI.95-94) This invention relates to light printing or duplicating machinesof the type employing diazo sensitized materials, and more particularlyto mechanisms in such machines for disposing of the developer condensategenerally known as the waste developer.

Machines of the type indicated are widely employed in industry formaking exact duplicates of translucent originals, such as drawings orletters, and deliver a posi tive photocopy which can immediately be usedwithout further processing or drying. For this reason, these machinesare generally termed dry printing and developing machines, known by thetrade name Ozalid to distinguish them from other types where the exposedmaterial is liquid developed and thereafter must be dried before it canbe used.

The Ozalid type machines have generally three functional componentassemblies combined into one operating unit. In the first assembly,designated as the printer, the sensitized material, in contact with anoriginal, is exposed to high intensity light. In the second assembly,known as the separator conveyor unit, the material is separated from theoriginal and conveyed to the developer while the original is deliveredto a predetermined location into a suitable receiving tray. The thirdassembly is the developer where the exposed sensitized material issubjected to the vapors of a volatile developing agent, such as aqueousammonia, and thereafter delivered by the conveyor into a print ordelivery receptacle.

In the developing portion to which this invention is particularlydirected, a volatile liquid, such as aqueous ammonia, is vaporized in atank by means of electrical heating elements. A large portion of the gasso formed is absorbed in the sensitized material, but a part of themoist vapor condenses again into a liquid and must be removed from thetank.

It is the general practice, at the present time, to drain suchcondensate, or waste developer, from the tank into a storage vessel,such as a glass disposal-bottle and when the latter is filled it isemptied and replaced in the machine. Obviously, this requires periodicalattention and involves additional labor and maintenance, not to mentionthe human element factor on which the removal of the disposal-bottlerests.

The present invention contemplates automatic and continuous disposal ofthe waste developer during operation of the machine, and, to this end,means are provided for vaporizing the collected condensate and passingthe vapors through the air exhaust portion of the cooling systemutilized in such machines.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide, in thetype of machines hereinbefore stated, a simple yet expedientinstrumentality in the form of a disposal unit etfecting removal of thewaste developer.

Another object of the invention is to provide another functionalassembly for such machines which will collect the developer condensatefrom the developing chamber, volatilize such condensate, and subject thevapors so formed to an air current directed into an exhaust outlet,

thereby removing the waste developer liquid in vapor form from themachine.

A particular feature of this invention is that the removal of the wastedeveloper is entirely automatic in operation, and requires no attentionfrom a maintenance point of view.

Another feature of this invention is that the entire disposal unit issimple in construction, has no moving parts, and may be constructedrelatively small in size so that it can be accommodated in existinginstallations without difiiculties.

Other objects and features will be apparent from the followingdescription of the invention, pointed out in particularity in theappended claims, and taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which:

Figure l is a top view of the waste developer disposal unit;

Figure 2 is a similar view with the cover removed;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view in cross-section along the lines 3-3of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational phantom view of the component assembliesof a light printing and developing machine showing the location andapplication of the disposal unit.

For a better understanding of the construction and operation of thedisposal unit, in accordance with this invention, the general featuresof a light printing and developing machine will first be considered, andreference should be had to Figure 4, wherein the housing 5 of themachine is shown merely in outline to indicate that the components aresupported and arranged in a housing which surrounds all the workingparts.

The various controls for the operation of the machine and the powerdrive, which may be a suitable type of electric motor, are not shown forthe sake of simplicity of illustration, since the invention is notconcerned with these components.

The printer assembly, located near the bottom of the machine, includes aprinting cylinder 8 which is rotatably supported in any convenientmanner. A suitable light source 9 within the cylinder 8 is affixed to anenclosure 11 which forms an air duct for the circulation of cooling airto insure proper temperature for both the light source 9 and theprinting cylinder 8.

A plurality of endless conveyor belts 12, arranged side by side,partially surround the cylinder and travel over rollers 13, 14, 15, 16and 17 distributed at strategic points to form a transport from thecylinder 8 toward the separating and developing assemblies of themachine. The roller 13 is located near the material receiving end of themachine, there being a feedboard 19 in the proximity of the roller 13extending from the housing 5. This board forms the support for theoriginal and the sensitized material as they are inserted into themachine to be passed over the surface of the printing cylinder 8.

A secondary conveyor comprises several endless belts 20, arranged sideby side, which travel over roller 21, tensioning roller 22, and suctionroller 23. Over a portion of this travel the two belts 12 and 20 runparallel and in contact with each other. The separating assembly islocated within this portion and comprises two suction chambers. The onewhich deflects the sensitized material is the triangularly shapedsuction chamber 25, and the other which deflects the original is asuction roller 23.

The entry into the separator assembly is between rollers 17 and 21.Here, the sensitized material, as well as the original, will enter afterbeing stripped from the surface of the printing cylinder 8. A pluralityof stripping fingers 24, of special configuration, are arranged alongside the printing cylinder 8 and in contact therewith. Each 3 finger isbiased by the spring 27 and pivots over a shaft 28 extending between theside walls of the machine.

The particular construction and mode of operation of the strippingfingers form the subject matter of my copending application, Serial No.244,924, filed September 4, 1951, entitled Paper Pick-Off and GuideMeans for Light Printing Machines.

The suction chamber has a perforated side 26 over which passes theporous belts 12 as they travel between the rollers 16 and 17. Above theroller 16, in the upper portion of the machine, is placed the developingtank 29 which has a curved perforated wall 30 facing rearwardly. Anendless nonporous belt, generally termed the sealing sleeve 31,completely covers the perforated wall 30 as it passes over the rollers32, 33 and 34.

Within the tank 29 is placed the evaporator tray 35, having anelectrical heater rod 36 placed thereabove. An auxiliary heater rod 37may also be located near the perforated wall 30 to superheat thedeveloper vapors. The

tray is supplied with aqueous ammonia by gravity feed from a tank 38,and the ammonia within the tray is vaporized by the heater rod 36. Thegaseous medium so produced passes through the perforations of the wall39 so as to induce the required chemical reaction on the exposedsensitized material which is passed along and in contact with the wallby means of the traveling sealing sleeve 31.

Part of the wall 30 is not perforated and extends over and above thetank 29. This portion of the wall has an inturned end or lip 39 engagingthe bottom of the print 9 receiving tray 40, which at the point ofjunction is rounded and preferably welded to the tank 29. The upper wall41 of the tank 29, together with the print receiving tray 40, and alaterally extending wall 42, form an enclosure for a heater rod 43located near the non-perforated extension of the wall 30. The particularconstruction of this portion of the tank 29, and the placement of aheater rod, constitute an improvement which is described in my copendingapplication, Serial No. 252,606, filed October 23, 1951, entitledApparatus for Light Printing and Developing Diazotype Paper, nowabandoned.

All the moist vapor generated in the tank 29 will not be absorbed by thesensitized paper which is held against the perforated side 30 as it iscarried by the sealing sleeve 31. A portion of this gaseous developerwill condense on the cooler portions of the walls of the tank duringoperation, and, of course, at each shutdown of the machine, as it cools,the vaporized aqueous ammonia remaining in the tank condenses again intoliquid. This is generally termed the waste developer.

In accordance with the present invention, this condensate is drainedfrom the bottom of the tank where it collects by means of a flexibleconduit 49 and into a disposal unit 50. The constructional features ofthe latter are shown in detail in Figures 1, 2 and 3, to which referenceshould now be had.

Essentially, this unit comprises a container which may have any desiredshape and is shown by way of example as an oblong box having side walls52, a bottom 53 and a cover .54. This container is preferably made ofstainless steel which is not affected by the corrosive action of theaqueous ammonia collected therein. An electrical heating element 56 isarranged in contact with the bottom 53 to furnish the required heat forthe evaporation of the collected condensate. This heating element isgenerally connected to the same energizing source such as the A. C.power line which supplies the other components of the light printingapparatus. In commercial equipment, the heating element 56 may beembedded in the bottom portion of the unit, as is common practice inelectrically heated vessels, thereby obtaining a much higher efficiency.

The inside of the container is divided into an upper and a lower sectionby means of a heat confining shield 58 forming an inverted oblong cupwhich is smaller in overall dimensions than the container, so as toallow pasarsenic p 4 sage of the vapors into the upper section as willbe explained more fully.

Vents 69 are also placed in the wall near the bottom of the shield 58,and provide communication from the lower section, i.e., the space withinthe shield 58, into the upper section of the container. A drain inletpipe 62 extends through the cover 54, to which it is tightly fitted andpreferably welded, into the lower section through an opening 63 of theshield 58 This opening is larger in diameter than the 35562, therebypermitting additional passage of vapors from the lower section into theupper section.

An exhaust outlet pipe 65, which generally comprises a bl c du fi t n oer n ou l t u h n 6 0f the cover 54, connects to an inlet of the exhaustfan 68, as seen in Figure l. Such an exhaust fan is standard andnecessary equipment in machines of this type, and produces suctionwherever needed, as for example, through the printing cylinder 8 bymeans of conduit 69 in order to cool the cylinder, and also through theconduit 7!) for the print separating function. The outlet of the exhaustfan is generally conducted through a suitable exhaust pipe either intoan ammonia absorbing tank or into the open air outside of the room wherethe ma hine is situated.

The cover 54 also has an air inlet opening 72, which, as will be seenfurther, has an important function in the operation of the wastedisposal unit. The entire assem bly is surrounded by a heat insulatingjacket 73 filled with any suitable insulating material 74, such asasbestos fiber or other materials having poor heat conductivity and highheat resistance.

The operation of the disposal unit is simple and effective. As thecondensate, flowing in the conduit 49 and drain inlet pipe 62, reachesthe container it is vaporized due to the heat generated in the confinedspace of the lower section by the heating element 56. The vapors risethrough the vents and through the aperture 63 into the upper sectionwhere a partial vacuum is created by the air current flowing through theintake aperture 72 and the exhaust conduit created by the suction of thefan 68. The vaporized condensate is carried by this air current and isthereby removed from the disposal unit. 50 through the normal exhaustoutlet of the machine.

The air intake opening 72 in the cover 54 has an important function inthe edicient operation of the waste disposal, not only in establishingan air current flowing in one direction, but also in eliminatingnegative pressure in the developing tank 29. Without the opening 72 inthe cover 54 of the disposal unit 50, the suction of the fan wouldmaintain a negative pressure in the developing tank through conduit 49and inlet pipe 62. The vacuum so produced would remove not only thecondensate in the tank 29 but also the developing vapors generatedtherein. The result would be either complete inoperativeness as todevelopment, or a greatly lowered efficiency in performance dependingupon the extent of the vacuum produced in the tank The structuralarrangement shown in Figure 4 as to the placement of the disposal unit50 is by way of example, and it will be readily apparent to any oneskilled in the art that this unit may be placed wherever convenient asto mechanical assembly. In some instances, particularly in machineswhich have been built without such waste ammonia disposal, the unit maybe attached outside of the housing 5, and connected through suitablehose couplings to the functional elements in the machine with which theunit cooperates in obtaining the desired result.

I claim:

1. In a developing apparatus for light sensitive material of the typeutilizing a volatile liquid which forms a gas for development, adeveloping chamber, means in said chamber for generating said'gas' byevaporation of said liquid, a drain in said chamber for removing thecondensate of the vaporized liquid, a closed container into which saidcondensate is drained, comprising a metal box, a heat confining shielddividing said box into an upper and a lower section, a cond-.=.itconnected to said drain and extending into said lower section, saidshield having vents communicating with said upper section, means forheating said container and vaporizing the condensate collected therein,an air inlet to said container and forced air exhaust means attached tosaid container for removing the vapor therefrom.

2. In a developing apparatus for light sensitive material of the typeutilizing a volatile liquid which forms a gas for development, adeveloping chamber, means in said chamber for generating said gas byevaporation of said liquid, a drain in said chamber for removing thecondensate of the vaporized liquid, a closed container into which saidcondensate is drained, comprising a metal box, a heat confining shielddividing said box into an upper and a lower section, a conduit connectedto said drain and extending into said lower section, said shield havingvents communicating with said upper section, a cover for said containerhaving an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening, suction producingmeans attached to said outlet opening and heating means in contact withsaid lower section for vaporizing the condensate collected therein.

3. In a developing apparatus for light sensitive material of the typeutilizing a volatile liquid which forms a gas for development, adeveloping chamber, means in said chamber for generating said gas byevaporation of said liquid, a drain in said chamber for removing thecondensate of the vaporized liquid, a closed container into which saidcondensate is drained, comprising a metal box, a heat confining shielddividing said box into an upper and a lower section, a conduit connectedto said drain and extending into said lower section, said shield havingvents communicating with said upper section, a cover for said containerhaving an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening, suction producingmeans attached to said outlet opening and heating means in contact withsaid lower section for vaporizing the condensate collected therein, anda heat insulating jacket surrounding said box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,728,361 Pifer Sept. 17, 1929 1,841,653 Grinten et a1 Jan. 19, 19321,953,160 Fuke Apr. 3, 1934 2,058,983 Horn Oct. 27, 1936 2,219,584 VonMeister Oct. 29, 1940 2,241,104 Grinten May 6, 1941 2,384,155 BrunkSept. 4, 1945 2,503,225 Trump Apr. 4, 1950 2,522,155 Harper Sept. 12,1950

1. IN A DEVELOPING APPARATUS FOR LIGHT SENSITIVE MATERIAL OF THE TYPEUTILIZING A VOLATILE LIQUID WHICH FORMS A GAS FOR DEVELOPMENT, ADEVELOPING CHAMBER, MEANS IN SAID CHAMBER FOR GENERATING SAID GAS BYEVAPORATION OF SAID LIQUID, A DRAIN IN SAID CHAMBER FOR REMOVING THECONDENSATE OF THE VAPORIZED LIQUID, A CLOSED CONTAINER INTO WHICH SAIDCONDENSATE IS DRAINED, COMPRISING A METAL BOX, A HEAT CONFINING SHIELDDIVIDING SAID BOX INTO AN UPPER AND A LOWER SECTION, A CONDUIT CONNECTEDTO SAID DRAIN AND EXTENDING INTO SAID LOWER SECTION, SAID SHIELD HAVINGVENTS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID UPPER SECTION, MEANS FOR HEATING SAIDCONTAINER AND VAPORIZING THE CONDENSATE COLLECTED THEREIN, AN AIR INLETTO SAID CONTAINER AND FORCED AIR EXHAUST MEANS ATTACHED TO SAIDCONTAINER FOR REMOVING THE VAPOR THEREFROM.